Women living in poverty hit hardest by obesity crisis, report says | Obesity

Obesity is becoming “a disease of England’s poorest people”, putting them at higher risk of dying from the deadliest diseases, a new report from the King’s Fund warns.

There is a large and growing gap between the number of people from disadvantaged families who are dangerously overweight and those from more affluent backgrounds, and the difference is particularly pronounced among women, according to the think tank.

Boris Johnson has identified the fight against obesity as a key goal after realizing how dangerous it can be when he was hospitalized last year with Covid. Sir Simon Stevens, the head of NHS England, has sounded the alarm on the rise in obesity, describing it as “the new smoking” for its potential to harm public health.

“Obesity is increasingly a disease of the poorest people and hurts the chances of survival of children in poorer parts of England, and increasingly as they reach adulthood” , said Richard Murray, Managing Director of the King’s Fund. “Failure to bring the growing obesity crisis under control in poor parts of England will put people at a higher risk for diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers. This will place an increasing burden on them as individuals and on the NHS. “

The think tank points to “a significant increase in obesity in England’s most disadvantaged communities in recent years, leading to a widening of the gap between poor and wealthy areas”. For example, the gap in obesity rates among women in the most and least deprived areas fell from 11% in 2014 to 17% in 2020.

The gap has also worsened in children. The difference in obesity rates between the poorest 10 and 11 year olds and the richest in primary schools fell from 8% in 2006-07 to 13% in 2019-20, according to data from the National Measurement Program. childhood.

Murray said this underscores the need for the government to address the “deep and growing inequalities the pandemic has exposed” as part of its stated goals of “leveling off” and “building back better” after Covid, and efforts to reduce obesity in poor areas will be a key test.

A government spokesperson said: “We are absolutely committed to leveling health inequalities across the country as part of our recovery from Covid-19. Through our strategy on obesity and the recently announced ban on the advertising of unhealthy food, we are taking concrete steps to get the country back fit and healthy and to protect the long-term health of our children.